Is this ammo safe for lever guns?

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BlueHeelerFl

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I was shooting this Fiocchi 142 gr TC 357 mag ammo in my new Marlin 1894C the other day. Due to the shape of the TC bullet, is this ammo safe to load in the tube of the lever gun?

I didn't think about this until after I shot them.

2ab159b8155ddcc0b395811eee357e86_4.jpg
 
put 2 rimmed rounds on a flat surface. the taper of the round keeps the bullets of dead center. the op's photo even shows the rake in the case.

Push the two bullets together, watch physics in action. The spring pressure of the mag tube encourages the rounds to compress to their minimal linear dimension, which is found when coaxial. That “rake” laying on the table, not in a mag tube is not how they orient in the mag.
 
I bought a quantity of that ammo from a guy who used to shoot it in a 357 lever action. He said he had no problem.

I guess he didn't but I only use that ammo in revolvers. You might get away with something for 100 years but then it happens. Why tempt fate?
 
Push the two bullets together, watch physics in action. The spring pressure of the mag tube encourages the rounds to compress to their minimal linear dimension, which is found when coaxial. That “rake” laying on the table, not in a mag tube is not how they orient in the mag.
well tell the french that, they would disagree.
 
well tell the french that, they would disagree.
Rounds may or may not align perfectly nose to primer in a typical tubular magazine, but the Lebel isn't really a fair example of what happens in a typical tubular magazine with typical ammo.

The Lebel 1886 was designed with a follower that tilted the round. In addition, the spitzer ammo had a case head designed to trap the nose of the bullet behind it in the magazine so it was unlikely to touch the primer. In spite of those design features, some sources indicate that the spitzer ammo also featured a modified primer to reduce the chances of a mag tube detonation. Finally, the entire round was significantly tapered and had quite a large rim.

There have been, as I recall some instances of bullets with truncated/flat point noses setting off a round in a tubular magazine when the sharp edge of the nose dinged the primer of the round in front of it. One specific incident I remember reading was with 45-70+P rounds loaded with hardcast flat nose bullets in a Marlin rifle. Seems like I have seen reports of two incidents with this combination.

I wouldn't use the ammo in question in a tube-fed gun. No matter how well things line up when everything is at rest in the magazine, when things start bouncing around during recoil, there's no guarantee that everything will stay neatly aligned.

Perhaps that's being overcautious, but it's my gun and my hand and I like them both--a lot. There's lots of ammo out there that doesn't present any practical possibility of this issue.
 
Three Questions:

What are the cross sectional areas, respectively, of the end of the firing pin and the tip of the bullet?
What are the impact velocity and force per square unit of area necessary to compress the primer anvil adequately to detonate?
Is the recoil of the 357 mag in this firearm adequate to do this?
 
One specific incident I remember reading was with 45-70+P rounds loaded with hardcast flat nose bullets in a Marlin rifle. Seems like I have seen reports of two incidents with this combination.

I looked this up just now. Pretty wild. I know boolit people love their hardcast meplats, but if you have a meplat that is hard enough, sharp enough and just the right size that it can detonate a primer ahead of it... that's simply a stupid bullet design.
 
no answer for your problem, but since you said "new Marlin" can we hear about it? Specifically where you got it, what it cost, special order/off the shelf, quality?
 
no answer for your problem, but since you said "new Marlin" can we hear about it? Specifically where you got it, what it cost, special order/off the shelf, quality?

I got it off the rack at my LGS for $675. They had 2 in stock.

Quality wise the rifle seems to be very good. The fit and finish seem to be good, but to be honest I'm not an expert. Its a good looking gun

The lever action is very smooth. It seems to be smoother than my previous 1894CS. It also seems to cycle 38s better than my old one. At the end of my first range session I ran into a handful of minor cycling issues, but I shot the gun without cleaning it first. I was also overly tired by the end if than session as well, worked about 13 hours the day before.

The loading gate was a bit stiff but no where near as bad as what I read on the internet.

I was impressed with the accuracy. At 25 yards offhand, with buckhorn sights and bad eyes I did pretty good.

The Fiocchi TC rounds loaded and cycled perfectly and hit right to point of aim. I did have difficulty with 2 different types of hp not wanting to load properly, but others loaded fine.

I am very happy with my new 1894C!
 
Just for the record: While I am comfortable with the 30-30 with LeveRevolution bullets and the shock absorber tip, I am still nervous about those Winchester 30-30 loads with that 150 gr RN Hollowpoint...(Plus, they don't shoot worth a darn in either of my 30-30's)
 
Just for the record: While I am comfortable with the 30-30 with LeveRevolution bullets and the shock absorber tip, I am still nervous about those Winchester 30-30 loads with that 150 gr RN Hollowpoint...(Plus, they don't shoot worth a darn in either of my 30-30's)
No need to be nervous about these rounds. I've been shooting them in my Marlin for 30 years & accuracy is outstanding. I have to special order them & they are not cheap, but you can load & unload all day long without harming or deforming the bullet not to mention that they are pure poison on deer.
 
I got it off the rack at my LGS for $675. They had 2 in stock.

Quality wise the rifle seems to be very good. The fit and finish seem to be good, but to be honest I'm not an expert. Its a good looking gun

The lever action is very smooth. It seems to be smoother than my previous 1894CS. It also seems to cycle 38s better than my old one. At the end of my first range session I ran into a handful of minor cycling issues, but I shot the gun without cleaning it first. I was also overly tired by the end if than session as well, worked about 13 hours the day before.

I was impressed with the accuracy. At 25 yards offhand, with buckhorn sights and bad eyes I did pretty good.

The Fiocchi TC rounds loaded and cycled perfectly and hit right to point of aim. I did have difficulty with 2 different types of hp not wanting to load properly, but others loaded fine.

I am very happy with my new 1894C!

Thanks for the reply, I have a JM 94c I show to friends, many want to go get one, but can't find them. I tried ordering one a while back and was told it wasn't worth the effort (for them to order it).
I got mine shortly before the closure of the old factory, and it was $330, but I would consider it a bargain to get a good one for $700.
 
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